Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500X launch soon: Sporty bike to strike around Auto Expo 2018

Recall Royal Enfield's newly-styled Thunderbird X models that were spotted in India last year? Looks like the Chennai-based niche bike-maker is planning to launch the Thunderbird X range in India soon. But how soon?

A report of CarandBike reveals that Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500X — a new sporty and advanced avatar of the Thunderbird — could be launched as early as February. That is around the same time as the Auto Expo 2018.

Since Royal Enfield will not be participating at the show just like the previous editions, the company could be planning to hog the limelight before the show begins.

Also read: Hero MotoCorp's new 300cc sportsbike to debut at Auto Expo 2018

The Thunderbird will get bright colours and features like a new handlebar, new seats and blacked-out alloy wheels in its latest avatars. It will also feature matte black finished exhaust, a telescopic fork and dual shock-absorbers.

The Thunderbird 500X is expected to get disc brakes on both front and rear wheels. The new version of the Thunderbird gets the same headlamp and the taillamp of the original Thunderbird with LED daytime running lamps and an LED unit for the rear lamp.

Also read: UM to launch 3 new 300cc motorcycles in India in 2018

When spotted in December 2017, Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500X was seen in new Blue, Yellow, Red and White colours while the lower-displacement Thunderbird 350X is expected to be offered in red and white colour shades. The Thunderbird 500X and 350X are unlikely to see any changes in the engines of the models.

At the heart of Thunderbird 350X will be the same 346cc single-cylinder, four-stroke engine. It can churn out 19.8 bhp of power 5,250 rpm and a peak torque of 28 Nm at 4,000 rpm, mated to a five-speed gearbox. The bigger Thunderbird 500X will come powered by the same 500cc engine of the original Thunderbird.

Royal Enfield has also begun testing its upcoming 650 twins on the Indian roads. The new Continental GT 650 and Interceptor 650 are expected to be launched in the country by April 2018.

Powering the new RE motorcycle is a four-stroke, single overhead cam, air-cooled 648cc parallel twin-cylinder engine, which can generate an output of 47bhp and 52Nm torque, mated to a six-speed transmission.

In India, the bike-maker is also set to offer the new Himalayan Sleet limited edition, which will go on sale on January 30.